Shoe sole, and shoe with such a sole

ABSTRACT

The aim of the invention is to design a sole (1), and a shoe with such a sole (1), so that the length of the sole (1) or of the upper attached to it can be easily adjusted, using adjustment means (11), to meet the needs of the wearer of the shoe. This is achieved by virtue of the act that a front thrust block (7) is fitted at the rear (5) of the front sole (2) and a rear thrust block (8) at the front (6) of the rear sole (3). The shoe is fitted with at least one adjustment means (11) which forms a force-locking connection with the two thrust blocks (7, 8), the jointed section (4) thus being adjustable by the adjustment means (11) to various lengths.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a shoe sole having a jointed section thatexpandable in length in a jointed area between a front sole and a rearsole, and at least one adjustment means with a spindle runningapproximately in a direction of a longitudinal axis of the sole in sucha way that, in one direction of rotation of spindle of the adjustmentmeans, the front and rear sole are moved toward one another and in anopposite direction of rotation of the spindle of the adjustment means,the front and rear sole are moved away from one another.

2. Description of Related Art

A shoe sole of the type to which this invention is directed is knownfrom U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,099.

The adjusting spindle projects over the rear edge of the heel. In thearea of the rear heel wall, it has an annular groove into which a guideplate that is inserted into the heel wall engages. With the aid of theguide plate and the annular groove of the adjusting spindle, the spindlecan be mounted rotatably and immovably in the heel wall. When theadjusting spindle rotates via a head that projects over the rear edge ofthe heel, the rear section of the front sole is drawn into the heel orpulled back out from the latter depending on the direction of rotation.As a result, the size of the shoe can be continuously adjusted.

When running, as is generally known, the heel is stressed at its loweredge with maximum step-down pressure. High stressing of the heelmaterial therefore occurs in the area of the guide plate. As a result,the adjusting spindle that runs through the entire heel is subjected toextreme bending stress, especially in the rear area, when stepped on inthis way. The jointed area of the front sole is not configured in anexpandable manner in this sole design.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is to achieve the object of further developing a shoesole of the above-mentioned type in such a way that the heel material atthe rear edge is no longer so heavily compression-stressed and nobending moment or only negligible bending moment is exerted on theadjusting spindle.

This object is achieved by the features of the invention describedbelow.

According to the invention, from the inside the head of the adjustingspindle can rest virtually directly on the rear thrust block in thesmallest adjustable shoe size, so that the heel is not penetrated by theadjusting spindle and works like a conventional heel. In the largestadjustable shoe size, the adjusting spindle projects a maximum of about2/3 of the way to the rear into the heel. In this case, however, thereis no great stress of the heel material in the area of the rear heeledge, so that the wear on the material is greatly reduced there comparedto the configuration that is known from DE-PS 189777.

Additional advantageous details of the invention are described in moredetail below based on the embodiments that are depicted in the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a rear sole section with the jointed area viewed from theside,

FIGS. 2-4 each show a side view along section I--I of FIG. 5,

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the sole section of FIGS. 1 to 4,

FIG. 6 shows a view along section II--II of FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 shows a side view of a sole section with attached or integratedlateral upper section along section III--III of FIG. 8,

FIG. 8 shows a top view of the sole section according to FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 shows a view along section IV--IV of FIG. 8,

FIGS. 10a to 10f show possible cross-sectional shapes of to the jointedsection and

FIGS. 11 to 16 show embodiments with a pressure spring or pressuresprings provided in the jointed section.

FIG. 17 shows an embodiment with elastically expansible diaphragms orplates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIGS. 1 to 6, a shoe sole which consists of a front sole or of afront sole section 2, a rear sole or a rear sole section 3, and ajointed section 4, is referred to as 1. Jointed section 4 extends overor approximately over jointed area 4'.

Individual sole sections 2, 3, 4 can consist of a uniform, homogeneouscomponent, e.g., a single shaped part or molded part, or jointed section4 can be fastened to, on the one hand, rear end area 5 of front sole 2and, on the other hand, to front area 6 of rear sole 3, e.g., sewn onand/or glued or--even using a material other than that of front and/orrear sole sections 2, 3--molded-on.

One thrust block 7 or 8 each is provided in end area 5 of front sole 2as well as in front area 6 of rear sole 3, whereby in each case saidthrust blocks form structural units with shoe sole 1 or with heels 2, 3in question or are fastened to the latter, for example, glued, molded-onor in some other way connected to one another. Thrust blocks 7, 8 can bemanufactured from a particularly more stable material than other shoesole parts 2, 3, 4.

In rear thrust block 8, which is formed, for example, by a recess 9 in ablock, a nut disk 10 or a web with a threaded hole is inserted. Anadjustment means 11 that is designed as a threaded bolt is screwed intothis threaded hole with its rear threaded section 11.1 from back wall 12of heel part 13 or a heel through a recess 14 that is provided there orthrough a slot. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the head of adjustment means11 projects with the smallest shoe size adjustment from thrust block 8approximately 2/3 of the way into heel 3. With the largest adjustment ofthe shoe size, the head can rest on thrust block 8 and thereforevirtually no longer projects into the heel. When stepped on, the heel isthus stressed in this state like a conventional heel.

End 15 of adjustment means 11 that projects forward engages into a blindhole 16 of front thrust block 7 that is open towards the rear and runsin the direction of adjustment means 11.

Jointed section 4 of the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 4 is formedby a wavy, folded web, whose wave crests 17 and wave troughs 18 runcrosswise to longitudinal axis 19 of the sole, especially perpendicularor approximately perpendicular, to the latter. This shape is usually notformed by folding, however, but rather is produced in this shapedirectly, for example by an injection or injection-molding process.

Adjustment means 11 preferably runs in or approximately in the directionof longitudinal axis 19 of shoe sole 1. Adjustment means 11 is pluggedthrough openings 20 of individual wall parts 21 of jointed section 4that are formed by the folding.

Sole sections 2, 3 and 4 preferably consist of elastically flexible orspringy material. With the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3, jointedsection 4 is shaped in such a way that it occupies a minimal length,into which adjustment means 11 engages, for example without compressionstress. FIGS. 1 and 2 show this position.

If adjustment means 11 is further screwed by rotation into nut disk 10,i.e., adjusted toward the left in the plane of the drawing, then freeend 15 of adjustment means 11 presses against the bottom of blind hole16 in thrust block 7. As a result, said thrust block 7 is moved awayfrom thrust block 8, thereby causing jointed section 4 to expand. Thus,jointed area 4' is also extended, and the entire length of the shoe soleis enlarged. This enlarged case is depicted in FIG. 3.

By screwing adjustment means 11, for example, back into the startingposition, jointed section 4 again occupies its original shape andposition as a result of its material-related return moment.

In this way, a shoe sole 1 and a shoe that is provided with the lattercan be adjusted very simply and quickly to various sizes and/or otherneeds of the foot.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, free end 15 of adjustment means 11is plugged through a hole 16' of thrust block 7. In hole 16', it ismounted rotatably but axially immovably in thrust block 7 by an innerpressure disk 23 that rests on a heel 22 of adjustment means 11 and atension disk 25 that is applied outside and secured by a rivet head 24.In this way, during rotation of adjustment means 11, the length ofjointed section 4 or of jointed area 4' can be shortened or lengtheneddepending on the selected direction of rotation.

By leaving out pressure disk 23, a design can be obtained in whichjointed section 4 is stressed only in pulling and thus only in thedirection of shortening. Return is again ensured by the resilience ofthe material, when adjustment means 11 is rotated in the direction ofthe lengthening of jointed section 4.

As depicted in FIG. 6, openings 20 in wall parts 21 are preferred aslongitudinal holes that extend from above downward. As a result, thematerial of jointed section 4 can yield upward and downward duringrunning. As a result, damage or premature wear of jointed section 4 isavoided.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, one threadedguide each, as described and shown based on FIGS. 1 to 3, can beprovided in both thrust blocks 7 and 8. In this case, the two threadsare made to turn opposite one another, so that when adjustment means 11is rotated in one direction, two thrust blocks 7, 8 are movedrespectively in directions that are opposite to one another. As aresult, a compression or expansion effect can also be achieved in asimple way, and thus the shortening or lengthening of the shoe can beadjusted.

To be able to adjust adjustment means 11, end area 11.1 is provided witha head 26 and a slot 27 that is made on its front side. As a result,adjustment means 11 can be adjusted through recess 14 with a tool, forexample, a screwdriver. Instead of slot 27, a cross slot or an insidepolygon can also be provided. Head 26 can also have an outside polygonor adjustment means 11 can be designed as a whole or at least in endarea 11.1 as a polygon.

Instead of the corrugated jointed section 4 that is depicted in FIGS. 1to 6, an elastically expansible diaphragm or plate 28, 29, as shown inFIG. 17, optionally can be provided in addition into section 4, underadjustment means 11 or under jointed section 4, optionally in additionover section 4. In FIG. 17, section 4 has been omitted for clarity.

Jointed section 4 and/or lower diaphragm 28 preferably is or aredesigned and arranged deeply enough recessed relative to running surface30 of the sole that when the foot steps on even ground, these parts haveno contact with the ground. The indentation is suitably selected so thatthe distance from the ground without stressing is about 1 mm to 8 mm,preferably about 2 mm to 5 mm.

Shoe sole 1 together with running surface 30 can consist of a singlehomogeneous shaped part or molded part. Running surface 30 can also beshaped, however, by molding-on or gluing a sole plate 31 or heel plate32, optionally also made of more abrasion-resistant material than thatof sole sections 2, 3, 4.

According to another advantageous configuration of the invention, oneupper section 33, 34 each that projects upward and preferably is tiltedforward is attached, e.g., molded-on, glued, sewed-on or welded, on bothsides, according to FIGS. 7 to 9 in jointed area 4'. Upper sections 33,34 can optionally be the Leg of a U-shaped molded part 35, whose base 36extends above jointed area 4' or jointed section 4. Molded part 35 canbe molded-on there or glued to jointed section 4 or connected to it insome other way.

Upper sections 33, 34 and optionally also base 36 of molded part 35consist of an elastically flexible and expandable material, so thatlengthwise expansion or shortening of jointed section 4 can be done atthe same time. Instead of or in addition to the design of elasticallyflexible material, upper sections 33, 34 and base 36 can be madesimilarly or exactly the same way as jointed section 4, whereby, e.g.,wave crests 37 and wave troughs 38 in the case of upper sections 33, 34run upward and in a corresponding fashion in the case of base 36, as injointed section 4.

Various other designs of jointed section 4 are depicted diagrammaticallyin FIGS. 10a to 10f. The undulation is generally made more narrow thandepicted, so that a large range is possible for varying the lengthwithout stressing the material greatly.

Upper sections 33, 34 and optionally also base 36 preferably have edgestrips 39, to which the upper material of a shoe can be sewn, glued,welded or connected in some other way.

Means for guiding and holding a tightening element, e.g. a shoelace, canbe attached or molded-on to upper sections 33, 34, preferably in upperend area 40. These can be hooks, loops, looping elements, channels, orthe like.

In a way known in the art, a shoe that is equipped with shoe sole 1according to the invention has an insole and/or midsole and/or aslipsole or inner sole 5. The upper material is rigidly connected, e.g.,glued or molded-on, to shoe sole 1. In jointed section 4' the uppermaterial is provided with lateral recesses, in which upper sections 33,34 can be placed and can be rigidly connected with their edge strips 39to the upper material. Above or laterally open in the instep area of theshoe and on the material edges, the upper material is equipped withfastening and/or holding elements for a strap. These parts are suitablymatched to the type and arrangement of those on upper parts 33, 34.

Adjustment means 11 used in this invention is or are designed in such away that the length of the sole can be changed by 1 cm up to 4 cm,especially about 1 cm to 3 cm. Adjustment means 11 can preferably beadjusted directly from back 12 of heel part 13 or with a tool.

In the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 11 to 16, a pressure spring 41 isprovided in jointed section 4, which can be adjusted with the aid ofadjustment means 11 on varying prestressing, by jointed section 4 beingshortened by screwing in adjustment means 11. In this design, from theinside head 26 of adjustment means 11 always rests on rear thrust block8. Therefore, no section of adjustment means 11 projects into heel 3.Heel 3 is therefore stressed when used as a conventional heel.

According to FIGS. 11 to 13, pressure spring 41, which is preferablydesigned as a helical spring, is inserted through widened openings 20 ofjointed section 4. It is moved via adjustment means 11 and secured bythe latter against lateral yielding. Pressure spring 41 is supportedfrom the inside on thrust blocks 7, 8. FIGS. 11 and 12 show theadjustment in the case of shortened jointed section 4. If adjustmentmeans 11 is unscrewed, pressure spring 41 presses jointed sections 4apart into a length that is limited by adjustment means 11. As isevident, in this connection adjustment means 11 is always stressed onlyin tension. As a result, its cross-section relative to theabove-described designs can be made significantly thinner. This makes itpossible to design adjustment means 11 in such a way that it can followthe bending movements of jointed section 4.

Instead of pressure spring 41 that is arranged over adjustment means11--or in addition to the latter--one or more pressure spring(s) 41 canbe arranged laterally adjacent to adjustment means 11 in jointed section4. Such a design is depicted in FIGS. 14 to 16.

In FIG. 14, a pressure spring 41 is arranged adjacent to adjustmentmeans 11, by jointed section 4, adjacent to adjustment means 11, havingadditional openings 20.1, in which pressure spring 41 is inserted andsupported on thrust blocks 7, 8. Pressure spring 41 can be inserted insuch a way that jointed section 4 is bent upward in the last link, andthen pressure spring 41 is inserted and then jointed section 4 isreturned to its normal position under the action of its inherentelasticity. The visualization shows the compressed adjustment, i.e., a"small shoe size."

In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 15 and 16, pressure spring 41 ispenetrated by a rod 42, especially a springy elastic rod. This preventspressure spring 41 from yielding, mainly in the heavily stressed state.Rod 42 is rigidly held in thrust block 8, by being inserted with a head43 into a corresponding recess 44 of thrust block 8. In other thrustblock 7, rod end 42.1 is mounted movably in a hole 45. FIG. 15 shows thecompressed state of pressure spring 41, and FIG. 16 shows a more relaxedstate of pressure spring 41.

Instead of a rod 42, a sleeve that surrounds pressure spring 41 can alsobe provided, which can take part in the expansions. For example, thiscan be a corrugated tube or these can also be tube sections that canmove into one another like a telescope.

What is claimed is:
 1. Shoe sole having a jointed section that isexpandable in length in a jointed area between a flexible front sole anda flexible rear sole, and at least one adjustment means, each adjustmentmeans comprising an adjusting spindle running approximately in adirection of a longitudinal axis of the sole between a front thrustblock that is provided in rear end area of the front sole and a rearthrust block that is provided in the rear sole in such a way that, inone direction of rotation of spindle of the adjustment means, the frontand rear sole are moved toward one another, and in an opposite directionof rotation of the spindle of the adjustment means, the front and rearsole are moved away from one another; wherein each rear thrust block islocated exclusively in a front area of the rear sole; and wherein thejointed section of the shoe sole is provided between the front and rearthrust blocks.
 2. Shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the spindle ofsaid at least one adjustment means is rotatable in both thrust blocks bya threaded connection in each of the thrust blocks and is held in alengthwise adjustable manner, the screw threads of the thrust blocksturning in opposite directions relative to one another.
 3. Shoe soleaccording to claim 1, wherein said at least one adjustment means extendsat most along about 2/3 of the length of the rear sole toward the rear;and wherein the sole has an opening through which said at least oneadjustment means is externally adjustable with a tool.
 4. Shoe soleaccording to claim 3, wherein said at least one adjustment means has ahead with one of a slot, cross slot, polygonal recess, and polygonalprojection that is actuatable by said tool from outside of the sole. 5.Shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein one of a screw thread and nutpart is provided in one of the thrust blocks; wherein the spindle of theadjustment means is provided, at least at one end area thereof, with amatching screw thread; and wherein an opposite end area of the spindleis fixed in the other thrust block.
 6. Shoe sole according to claim 1,wherein the jointed section has one of a wavy, zig-zag and meandershape, with crests and troughs that run crosswise relative to thelongitudinal axis of the sole.
 7. Shoe sole according to claim 6,wherein the jointed section is made of a hard-elastic, springy, flexiblematerial.
 8. Shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein said at least oneadjustment means is provided with one of an elastically expandablediaphragm and plate that ends below the sole.
 9. Shoe sole according toclaim 1, wherein said at least one adjustment means is provided with oneof an elastically expandable diaphragm and plate that ends above thesole.
 10. Shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein upper sections thatproject laterally upward in the jointed area are provided, and saidupper sections being made of a material that is expandable andcontractable corresponding to adjustment of the length of the jointedarea.
 11. Shoe sole according to claim 10, wherein the upper sectionsform a leg of a U-shaped molded part which has a base that is fastenedto the jointed area.
 12. Shoe sole according to claim 10, wherein theupper sections have essentially the same cross-sectional shape as thejointed area.
 13. Shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the uppersections extend in an obliquely forward direction from the jointed area.14. Shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the upper sections have edgestrips with which they are rigidly connectable to material of an upperof a shoe.
 15. Shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the jointed areais penetrated by at least one pressure spring which rests on the thrustblocks.
 16. Shoe sole according to claim 15, wherein the at least onepressure spring surrounds the spindle of the adjustment means.
 17. Shoesole according to claim 15, wherein at least one pressure spring isprovided on at least one side of the spindle of the adjustment means.18. Shoe sole according to claim 17, wherein the at least one pressurespring is penetrated by a rod which is rigidly held at one end in one ofthe thrust blocks and is movably mounted in the other of the thrustblocks.
 19. Shoe comprising an upper and a shoe sole, said shoe solehaving a jointed section that expandable in length in a jointed areabetween a flexible front sole and a flexible rear sole, and at least oneadjustment means, each adjustment means comprising an adjusting spindlerunning approximately in a direction of a longitudinal axis of the solebetween a front thrust block that is provided in a rear end area of thefront sole and a rear thrust block that is provided in the rear sole insuch a way that, in one direction of rotation of spindle of theadjustment means, the front and rear sole are moved toward one another,and in an opposite direction of rotation of the spindle of theadjustment means, the front and rear sole are moved away from oneanother; wherein each rear thrust block is located exclusively in afront area of the rear sole; and wherein the jointed section of the shoesole is provided between the front and rear thrust blocks; wherein theupper is rigidly connected to the sole; wherein at least one of aninsole and a midsole are provided; wherein material of the upper is cutout in the jointed area and is rigidly connected there to insertedexpansible upper sections which are constructed in a manner which issimilar or the same as the jointed section of the shoe sole.